A cuppa with Tracy Bongiorno
This week we talk about Sunrise in Sydney next week, a Victorian roundtable, our upcoming workshop, chatting with Tracy Bongiorno, and suggest a maqluba recipe.
This is the second of two newsletters you'll get from us this month, trying out a new format. Let us know what you think!
What’s been happening?
Blackmill in Sydney for Sunrise
We were in Sydney earlier this month for Ruby Conf AU and we're coming back again next week. We will be at Sunrise by Blackbird on May 1st and 2nd. If you're around, come and say hello!
Digital Economy Future Skills Roundtable with VSA
Last week, Elle joined a Digital Economy Roundtable, facilitated by the Victorian Skills Authority. The session's objective was to discuss current and future skills needs and help guide the Victorian Government policies and programs. The digital economy roundtable focused on the economic and social transformations introduced by the increasing digitisation of industry and society.
Leading Engineering Teams workshop
Whether you're new to leadership, have done it for ten years, now managing the team's managers, or are a co-founder of a new start-up, our Leading Engineering Teams workshop will help you improve and grow with your team effectively. In the workshop we discuss leadership styles, team culture, feedback and difficult conversations, effective one:ones, coaching the team, and product delivery.
The workshop format is 2.5 hours each day for four days, so that you don't have to be away from work for the whole week. We keep the group small to maximise group discussions, interactions, and hands-on practice. We also schedule a pre-workshop chat to learn more about you and what your individual goals are, so that we can address them at the workshop.
The next workshop starts on May 27th and is half sold. Tickets and details available here
Blackmill's Engineering Leadership workshop was one of the best courses I've attended. While it contained general leadership and management learnings, the specific software engineering focus plus both Elle and Lachlan's industry experience was invaluable.
I also found that the teachings focused around empathy clearly aligned with my own values. Highly recommended for those just starting their tech leadership journey to seasoned leaders looking to sharpen their axe.
Charles Vallance, Software Engineering Manager, Sharesies
A cuppa with Tracy Bongiorno
1. What do you do? And what do you like about your work?
I'm currently Head of Engineering at Mentorloop. I manage and oversee the engineering team in terms of people, product, and technology. I love helping the engineers on my team to learn and grow their skills, both people skills and core skills, as well as building a product that has such a great impact on the people who use it.
2. What aspect of your work do you find most challenging?
Finding time to get all the things done! As a team, we have very strong ambitions for our roadmap so we are always trying to find ways to optimise our ways of working and what we can do to deliver value to our customers. Personally, I also find it tricky to balance my time between people management, planning, and researching new technologies. Tying in with question 3 below, I have a hard time saying no to things. 😅
3. What are you passionate about?
Building great teams and products! I suppose both of these stem from my desire to help people. I want to help the people on my team grow and learn — both as software engineers and people, and I want to build great products that help people in work and life.
4. What are recent accomplishments you are happy with?
I'm always proud of the work accomplished by my teams. Most recently, at Mentorloop, we've been working hard on the release of our mobile apps as well as two significant new features coming up for release in March.
On a personal note, I am a proud co-organizer for Tech Leading Ladies as well as very excited and humbled to be part of the WILD for STEM Program 2024 cohort. I look forward to being able to share my experiences and learnings with the Tech Leading Ladies community.
5. What is one mistake that you will never make again?
Early in my career, I was taking on a lot both at work and personally, which caused me a significant amount of stress. As a result, I tended to be quite impatient, and at times some of my teammates were even hesitant to approach me with questions. I have come a long way since then and have come to realise how my emotional state can have a significant impact on my relationships and how well I can perform in my role. I now prioritise maintaining a healthy work-life balance and managing my stress levels effectively. I reflect and practice mindfulness techniques so that I can approach challenges with calm and patience. I make a conscious effort to foster an open and supportive environment for my team, encouraging them to come to me with any questions or concerns they may have.
6. How do you manage stress?
I find the best stress relief to be physical activity, whether it's taking the dog for a walk, attending a kickboxing / Muay Thai class, or singing along to my favourite music. I also enjoy playing games (anything Legend of Zelda, co-op video games, board games, chess, etc) as a great way to take my mind off things causing me stress. If I can't get away to do these activities, I practice breathing exercises and discuss my situation with trusted family and friends.
7. What is the best advice you can give?
You don't have to know everything and do everything to be a great leader. In fact, delegation is an important leadership skill to learn and develop. It gives you an opportunity to teach others while giving them the opportunity to learn new skills and take on additional responsibility.
8. What one thing would you change about our society?
If everyone had a healthy level of empathy, I think our society would be significantly improved. People would have a better understanding and appreciation for others and be able to put themselves in other people's shoes. People would be more willing to be accepting, find middle ground, and make compromises for the betterment of society as a whole.
9. What are your goals or aspirations for this year?
1. Maintain a healthy state of mind while still challenging myself to learn and grow. 2. Successfully complete the AICD assessment and WILD for STEM program. 3. Help Mentorloop achieve all of our product and technology goals for the year.
What are we cooking?
Eggplant and sweet potato maqluba
A pot that you turn upside down on a plate is always awe-inspiring. The minute before you do that is always stress-inducing. Will it or will it not hold? From beautiful layers of ingredients, to feeling pride and relief, turn every bite to be tastier. The base for this maqluba is red rice and millet. If you’re new to millet, and are afraid of using an unknown grain, you can substitute with quinoa, spelt, or just rice.
Lachlan made this dish on Monday with just red rice. This is not a quick recipe but it is worth the effort.
Here is another version of this dish that we like by Ceres Fair Food
Ingredients
- 2 cups of red rice
- 1/2 cup of millet (quinoa, or spelt)
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 2 onions, halved and sliced thinly
- 3 sweet potatoes
- 3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sweet paprika (or smoked, or spicy)
- 1 small eggplant, sliced to 2cm width
- 6 mushrooms, sliced to 1cm width
- 6 chard leaves, white part chopped thinly, green leaves chopped roughly
- 2 cups of cooked chickpeas
- 1 tbsp baharat
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 5 cups of boiling water
- 1/2 cup of almond slivers or pine nuts
Instructions
- Soak the rice and millet in lukewarm water for an hour. If pressured for time, even 30 minutes is good.
- Heat up 1/4 cup of oil in a big and wide pot on medium heat, and fry the onions for 10 minutes until golden. Take out the onions with the oil they were fried in to a plate and turn the heat off.
- Add the rest of the oil to the pot, add the sweet potatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp of paprika and mix, until the slices of sweet potatoes are coated in oil and spices. Arrange the slices in a uniform layer at the bottom of the pot, and then turn the heat on high. Char the sweet potatoes for 3 minutes on one side, until they are slightly brown.
- Strain the rice and millet, and add half to the pot. On top of the rice, arrange the slices of eggplant, again in a uniform layer. On top of the eggplant, add the mushrooms (it is ok if they do not cover all of the eggplant). Then spread the greens and fried onions. Lastly, add the rest of the rice and millet, and chickpeas.
- In a bowl, mix baharat, turmeric, paprika, tomato paste, 1/2 tsp of salt, and boiling water. Pour the mixture into the pot, cover, and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 45 minutes until all the liquids get absorbed and the rice is cooked. Leave the pot covered for another 10 minutes.
- Before serving, toast the almonds on a dry pan for 3 minutes, until slightly golden. Shake the pan occasionally so that the almonds will not burn.
- Turn the pot on a big serving plate, sprinkle with almonds and serve!
And we’re out
Thank you for showing an interest in our newsletter and we hope that you enjoyed the read. Feel free to contact us if you have any feedback, a burning question, or just a recipe that you would like to share.
Until next time, keep learning!
Everyone at Blackmill